Varecia rubra

IUCN

Alias：Varecia rubra,Red Ruffed Lemur

Basic Information

Scientific classification

name：Varecia rubra
Aliases：Varecia rubra,Red Ruffed Lemur
Outline：Primates
Family：Lemuridae

Vital signs

length：55-60cm
Weight：3.5-4.5kg
lifetime：15-20years

Feature

Reddish fur, black face, black tail

Details

The red-collared lemur (scientific name: Varecia rubra), whose foreign name is Red Ruffed Lemur, is one of two types of collared lemurs.

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Red-collared lemurs generally live in small family-style groups. Groups consist of 2-16 members. Active during the day, active in the early morning and evening. They mostly live in the forest canopy and mainly move on four legs. They walk through the forest habitat, which is a remnant of their original gait. Jumping from one tree to another, they can span significant distances, and often perform vertical climbing and jumping movements. They often squat on the branches of tree trunks when resting. They usually go out alone to forage and then return to the group to sleep.

The living habits of collared lemurs are similar to other lemurs, but there are many differences: they live in monogamous family groups. Although there is no territorial defense behavior among the groups, their hoarse, saw-like calls are , meaning to warn each other. The sound is like a bark or a howl. Its cry is second only to the howler monkey, ranking second among primates. This unique sound comes and goes in the forest, echoing each other from a distance. Sometimes a group of monkeys "sing" together, rising and falling in unison, which is very dramatic and adds a lot of confusion to the mysterious forest night.

The food of red-collared lemurs mainly includes sweet fruits, leaves, flowers, seeds, etc.

The mating season of red-collared lemurs is from May to July, and the peak reproduction period is from September to October. Female monkeys give birth in the nest, giving birth to 2-3 offspring per litter, and occasionally up to 6 offspring. Their nests are built in trees 10-20 meters above the ground. Its reproductive habits are quite special. During the non-breeding season, the female monkey's vagina is closed, and the estrus period is only 1-3 days. The mating period is even shorter, limited to 12 hours, and the gestation period is 102 days. Such a short reproductive cycle is not related to the collar. Lemurs are disproportionately large for their size. It may be for this reason that the newborn monkeys are not fully developed yet. The babies, each weighing about 100 grams, have their eyes opened and their hair has grown, but they are extremely weak and unable to grasp the mother's body. Fortunately, the mother monkey always builds a "delivery room" before giving birth. The small nest is made of hay leaves and her own armpit hair, so that the baby monkey can spend the "full moon" comfortably. When it is necessary to move, the mother monkey holds the baby monkey in her mouth. Young monkeys can move around alone after 4 months. During the growth process, nearly 65% of collared lemurs do not live to be 1 year old. The main reasons are death from predators and accidental falls. Life span is between 15-20 years.

Listed in the 2012 Red List of Endangered Species ver 3.1 of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) - Critically Endangered (CR).

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Location

The red-collared lemur is a species unique to Madagascar, where it lives in the tropical rainforests in the northeast of the island.

Form

The red ruffed lemur is one of the two ruffed lemurs. The head and body length of an adult ruffed lemur is about 55-60 cm, and the tail is the same length. The weight range is 3.5 to 4.5 kg. The fur is reddish, thick, and soft, with white spots on the crown and quite long hair, black face, and black tail.